Richmond Metal Co. Must Remove Toxic Waste

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A state hazardous wastes agency has won a temporary restraining order from a Contra Costa County Superior Court judge requiring a Richmond metal-plating company to remove toxic wastes from its facility.

The order against Electro-Forming Co. was granted by Judge Judith Craddick Friday at the request of the California Department of Toxic Substances Control.

It will be in effect until a Jan. 15 hearing on the agency's request for a longer-term preliminary injunction against the company.

The order requires the company to comply with state hazardous waste laws and regulations by removing wastes including cyanide and metal-containing liquids from its drums and tanks and by clearing contaminated buffing dust from its floors.

Electro-Forming is required to hire a qualified contractor to do the work and to report back to the DTSC within 48 hours of the removal.

A spokesman for the company was not immediately available for comment.

The state Attorney General's Office, acting on behalf of the DTSC, sued Electro-Forming and its owners in August.

The lawsuit alleged the company illegally disposed of hazardous waste in the street and on adjacent property; boiled off liquid plating waste and combined different types of hazardous waste in a tank.

DTSC Chief Counsel Reed Sato said in a statement, "This company has failed to comply with the rules that protect public health of the neighborhood around Electro-Forming. The state had to stop this reckless behavior."